Cranking device for internal-combustion motors.



W. R. WILLIAMS.

' GRANKING DEVIGRFOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION MOTORS.

' APPLICATION FILED MALZG, 1913.

1,086,969. I Patented Feb. 10, 1914 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

III

W. R. WILLIAMS. v GRANKING DEVICE FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION MOTORS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 26. 191

Pat ented Feb. 10, 1914.

2 SHEETS SHEET 2.

WILLIAM R. WILLIAMS, OF LONGMON T, CGLORAIDO.

CRANKING DEVICE FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION MOTORS.

roac es.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 26, 1913. Serial No. 756,945.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM R. WIL- LIAMS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Longmont, in the county of Boulder and State of Colorado, have invented new and useful Improvements in Cranking Devices for Internal-Combustion Motors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cranking devices for internal combustion motors, the device being especially designed for use on automobiles, motor trucks, and other mechanically propelled vehicles, in which an internal combustion motor is employed.

One of the principal aims of the present invention is to provide a cranking device which will be perfectly safe, in that the manually operated crank will not fly back in case the motor should back-fire, provision being made for releasing the crank from the motor shaft, irrespective of the direction in which the motor shaft starts. In other words, the manually operated crank is im mediately released, either in case the engine shaft starts forward or backward, thus rendering it impossible for the operator to be injured.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the class referred'to, which may be applied to old as well as new ma chines of the variety specified with a minimum amount of work.

With the above and other objectsvin View, the invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereunto appended.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of the complete cranking device of this invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through the entire mechanism. Fig. t is a cross section on the line dl of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective View of the forward and shorter sect-ion of the cranking shaft. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the tripping sleeve and adjacent parts.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the motor shaft, or as it is technically known, the crank shaft of the motor, which 15 provided at its cranking end with a clutch face 2.

In carrying out the present invention, I provide a cranking shaft embodying a rear main. section 3, and a forward shorter sectlon to which the hand crank 5 is fixedly attached, said hand crank being provided with the usual handle 6. The main section 3 of the cranking shaft is provided at its rear end with a clutch face 7 movable by a longitudinal shifting of the shaft 3 into and out of clutched engagement with the clutch face 2 of the'crank shaft 1, any suitable means, such as a spring (not shown), being employed for holding the clutch face 7 away from the clutch face 2. The section 8 of the cranking shaft is provided at its forward end with a flange 8, on the forward face of which is a tripping sleeve 9 of hollow cylindrical format-ion, the same being provided at any suitable number of points in its cylindrical Wall with slots 10', through which the dogs, hereinafter described, extend. Extending around and journaled on the sleeve 9 is a wheel 11 provided on its outer periphery with ratchet shaped teeth 12 which are adapted to be engaged by a latch or detent 13 pivotally mounted, at 14, on a portion of the frame, shown at 15, whereby said latch is adapted to permit the rotation of the wheel 11 in one direction, while preventing the rotation thereof in the opposite direction. The wheel 11 is provided at a suitable number of points with recesses 16, in which a corresponding number of dogs 17 are movable, said dogs being pivotally connected to the wheel 11, as shown in Fig. 4, by providing said dogs with rounded or cylindrical end portions 18 which are received in sockets 19 of corresponding shape. The swinging portions of the clutch dogs 17 extend through the slots 10 in the tripping sleeve 9 and enter notches 20 in an enlargement or collar 21 on the section 4 of the cranking shaft, said notches'beingclearly illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. Each of the notches 20 comprises an abrupt working face 21 which extends in a direction subiatented Feb. 10, 1914.

stantially radial to the axis of the shaft, and an inclined face 22, both of which faces terminate in the periphery of the enlargement or collar 21, the outer face of which is cylindrical, as shown. Each of the dogs is normally held inwardly with a yielding pressure by means of a leaf spring 28 attached at one end to the wheel 11. In rear of the enlargement or collar 21, the section a of the shaft is reduced to form a journal 24 which is received in a socket 25 in the end of the section 3 of the cranking shaft, as shown in Fig. 3. A cover plate 26 extends around the section 4: of the cranking shaft and covers in the clutch dogs and springs, and also the collar 21 and sleeve 9.

In order to enable the cranking mechanism of this invention to be applied readily with a minimum amount of work to the internal combustion motors already in commission on vehicles of the class described, the section 3 of the shaft may itself be made in two sections, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, one of said sections being provided with a squared extension 27 which is received in a correspondingly squared bore 28 in the end of the other section, the parts being bolted in fixed relation, after proper adjustment, by means of a set screw 29.

In operation, suppose the hand crank 5 to be turned in a clockwise direction, or to the right: When this takes place, the shoulders 21 formed by the notches 20 act against the ends of the dogs 17 which t-akeup the tripping sleeve 9 and the wheel 11 and revolve said parts simultaneously therewith in the same direction. At the same time, the clutch faces 7 and 2 are in engagement with each other, thereby imparting a clockwise rotation to the crank shaft 1 of the motor. If the motor starts forward in the proper direction, the clutch face 2 of the crank shaft 1 imme diately throws the clutch face 7 of the cranking shaft 3 forwardly, so that the clutch faces 2 and 7 are disengaged, the engine shaft continuing its rotation without the cranking shaft. Should the engine backfire, the clutch faces 2 and 7 will still remain in interlocked engagement. In this contingency, the tripping sleeve 9, which has a fixed relation to the section 3 of the cranking shaft, is caused to turn in an anti-clockwise direction with the crank shaft 1 of the motor. When this takes place, the end walls of the slots 10 act against the inner faces of the dogs 17 and quickly throw the dogs outwardly into the recesses 16 in the wheel 11, which wheel is held stationary by means of the latch or detent 13. This efi'ects a disengagement between the dogs 17 and the notches 20 in the section at of the shaft, so that the hand crank 5 remains stationary in the hand of the operator, while the engine is revolving in an anti-clockwise direction. There is only a very slight kick in a back ward direction on the hand crank 5 caused by the tripping sleeve 9 moving far enough to throw the dogs 17 outwardly. In a full sized device, this movement would not amount to more than a fraction of an inch, and would, therefore, cause no injury to the hand or arm of the operator. During this slight movement of the tripping sleeve 9 in an anti-clockwise direction, the wheel 11 is held stationary by the latch 13 which insures the throwing outward and disengagement of the dogs 17 from the section 1 of the cranking shaft.

What is claimed is:

1. A cranking device for internal combustion motors comprising a hand operated cranking shaft embodying two sections, a clutch face on one of said sections adapted to engage a clutch face on the motor shaft, a hand crank fast on the other section of the cranking shaft, and ratchet mechanism connccting the two sections of the cranking shaft in such manner that said sections are automatically disconnected in case of back firing, embodying shoulders on the hand crank section, a wheel adapted to turn on said section, dogs carried by said wheel and engaging said shoulders, and a dog tripping sleeve interposed between said wheel and shaft section, said sleeve being fast on the other shaft section and provided with slots through which the dogs extend.

2. A cranking device for internal combustion motors comprising a hand operated cranking shaft embodying two sections, a clutch face on one of said sections adapted to engage a clutch face on the motor shaft, a hand crank fast on the other section of the cranking shaft, and ratchet mechanism connecting the two sections of the cranking shaft in such manner that said sections are automatically disconnected in case of back firing, embodying shoulders on the hand crank section, a wheel adapted to turn on said section, dogs carried by said wheel and engaging said shoulders, and a dog tripping sleeve interposed between said wheel and shaft section, said sleeve being fast on the other shaft section and provided with slots through which the dogs extend and also provided with shoulders which act on the dogs to throw the latter out of engagement with said shoulders on the hand crank section.

3. A cranking device for internal combustion motors comprising a hand operated cranking shaft embodying two sections, a clutch face on one of said sections adapted to engage a clutch face on the motor shaft, a hand crank fast on the other section of the cranking shaft, ratchet mechanism connecting the two sections of the cranking shaft in such manner that said sections are autolatch permitting said Wheel to turn in one matically disconnected in case of back firing, direction only. 10 embodying shoulders on the hand crank sec- In testimony whereof I aflix' my signature tion, a Wheel adapted to turn on said secin presence of two witnesses.

- tion, dogs carried by said wheel and engag- WVILLIAM R. \VI LLIAMS.

ing said shoulders, and a dog tripping sleeve Witnesses: fast on the other shaft section provided with J. E. BUMP, slots through which the dogs extend, and a l S. D. JAYNES.

Copies 01' this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

